Jose Mourinho facing heavy punishment for latest breach of discipline

It’s fair to say the pressure might just be getting to Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.

Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Burnley left the Red Devils in eighth place in the Premier League table, with their manager forced to watch the second half from the stands having been sent off by the officials.

Of course, anyone who’s been following Mourinho’s mini-meltdown will realise this isn’t the first time he’s been in hot water this season. You’d have to have a pretty short memory to have forgotten that he’s only just been charged by the FA over his comments about referee Anthony Taylor before the Liverpool game.

Put the two together, and the Special One is now facing a hefty punishment, which could see him banned from the touchline for four games, reports the Sun.

It’s possible he’ll even be given a stadium ban, to add to the £8,000 fine and one-match touchline ban he’ll be hit with for being sent to the stands.

All this depends on what referee Mark Clattenburg – the man who got an earful from Mourinho in the tunnel after failing to give United a penalty – puts in his referee’s report.

It’s thought the FA want to give the Portuguese a more severe punishment than usual because he has such a history of disciplinary issues – as if he’s actually going to learn.

The 53-year-old didn’t even seem to take his sending off seriously at the time, trying to sit in the front row and shout advice to his staff, though he was quickly told to move.

Even then, he continued trying to pass notes – that would suggest United did have some kind of strategy, at least, but it certainly wasn’t reflected in his bizarre substitutions, which saw him take off Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata, quite possibly his side’s most positive players of the afternoon.

Mourinho may be struggling to get his message across, but the last thing the club needs is a four-game ban for their beleagured boss. Surely, even if he’s losing his touch a little, United would much rather have him on the touchline, so any action the FA does take could come as a heavy blow.

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Kat Lucas

Kat has been a freelance journalist for several years and, for her sins, is also a keen Tottenham Hotspur fan. While she is a regular at White Hart Lane (with the very occasional trip to Wembley), she is a lover of football at all levels and across Europe.